Taking DAS training, but not enjoying it

Taking DAS training, but not enjoying it

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HT281

Original Poster:

118 posts

156 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Afternoon all,

I'm a recent convert to motorcycling and i'm currently doing the training for Direct Access. I passed the theory, HP and CBT in November last year. I hated riding a 125, but completed the training and got a certificate.

I put the DAS training on hold over the winter due to the weather and I needed to consider if I really wanted to go the whole hog.

I resumed DAS training early April after choosing to take lessons rather than an intensive course, a decision I think was wise as I initially tried a two hour lesson and found the second hour tiring. I started to make silly mistakes that I didn't make in the first hour which knocked my confidence.

I've passed MOD1 test this week with one riding fault, but i'm really starting to question whether I should continue as crucially i'm not enjoying riding.

I'm finding it a real chore, particularly the amount of observations you have to do to ensure you avoid being being potted by careless drivers or other hazards.

But the main thing I have found is I'm not confident at riding at speed. I find riding at NSL stressful as i'm stting myself about something happening that I can't avoid in time and I have an accident. I find the faster I ride, the less confident I am.

I just wondered if anyone else has gone through this stage and doubted their ability/enjoyment of motorcycling and either quit or persisted and glad they did.




trickywoo

11,706 posts

229 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I didn't like DAS and nor did I like the first few months on my first big bike.

The 'life saver' isn't needed anywhere near as much as they insist on in training. With experience you'll get to know where you need a check and where you don't. I much prefer looking where I'm going.

Sounds like fundamentally you are just to tense. Its easy to say and hard to do but relax and everything will be much nicer.

I actually liked the faster stuff more than the slow but I think your dislike of that element is due to being tense.

Don't forget you are also likely to be riding a shagged school bike with floppy cables and worn bearings. A nice tight bike well setup and with good tyres will be so much nicer.

IMO you'll like it more with time in the saddle.

Fish

3,975 posts

281 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Honest to make the observations. I did DAS intensive in my mid 30's and just took the view I'd get my license then see if I wanted to ride for a long time. Ultimately gave it up but now got back into it.

Observations should be about the same for driving a car as a bike! If you feel you are doing too many then I'd question how safe you are in a car.

Comfort of riding at speed only comes from experience and potentially further training.

I woudl suggest get you license then make the decision of where you want to take it? ( that is assuming you can afford that route)

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

254 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Fish said:
Observations should be about the same for driving a car as a bike! If you feel you are doing too many then I'd question how safe you are in a car.
100% agree, but we all know that relatively few car drivers make sufficient observations.

Lugy

830 posts

182 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I passed my Mod 2 on Thursday after doing the intensive training and I have to say that some of what you say rings true, especially about the chore-like feel of the observations, after a while I reckon you should get in to a natural rhythm when you undertake manoeuvres, especially after the test when you don't have to make them so dramatic to prove you're doing them.
As for the speed thing, I had no issues getting up to speed but found myself lacking in confidence in bends. We spent quite a lot of time on NSL country roads and after a few hours I began to trust the bike which led to me really enjoying those rides.
I say stick with it and speak to your instructor about your worries.

CAPP0

19,533 posts

202 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Speaking as a full-licence biker, the only comparison I can make here is flying lessons. Many years ago I decided I wanted to learn to fly. I've got about 20 hours or so in a logbook, but in the end I decided that I wasn't really enjoying it and finding it really stressful, so I stopped. A few years later, i decided I'd retry but learning on older planes, as I wanted to be able to fly things like biplanes. Once again, and shortly after almost binning a Piper Cub in a big way, I packed it up completely.

I do still look up at the sky almost every time a light aircraft goes over, and have even wondered about trying again, but I don't think I will.

If it's not for you, it's not for you, and at least you have recognised that before you have gone too far (buying bikes, kit, etc). I'll never go potholing, I'll never skydive (or base jump!) but I love biking and skiing and titting about with old cars. We're all different!

nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I felt the same way. Riding was an enormous chore for well over a year, and I'd have to force myself to do it and was constantly stressed and tired by all of it- the st, heavy clothes, the heat, everything.

Then I did a thing called Tricks in the Sticks, messing about on trial bikes in a field and some woods. What that taught me is that it's really, really hard to fall off a bike. I spent the day belting about in a field with my front wheel fully locked and blasting around in wheels and through mud and it showed me that all the fear I had about grabbing too much brake/ sliding/ putting myself over the bars etc was largely a needless worry.

I couldn't recommend it or similarlily relaxed/ fun things. I love biking now and I hated it before that.

Also, the bike you ride can make a difference I think. I started on a 600 like most people and found all the stuff I was having to do to make it fun (revving it out, changing gears constantly- all stuff I love now) was just giving me more stuff to worry about/ less time and energy to process. So I moved up to a 1000 and I could waft around being lazy using the power until I was smooth and relaxed and confident.

Worth a go anyway. Good luck fella.

nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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trickywoo said:
Don't forget you are also likely to be riding a shagged school bike with floppy cables and worn bearings. A nice tight bike well setup and with good tyres will be so much nicer.
Very much this. Something you own/ care about/ take pride in will help enormously. As Tricks says, it's hard to find bikes less well loved or less fun to begin with.

Try getting on something you fancy once you pass your test. I'll bet you a cheesey straw you like it a lot more once you're not feeling under scrutiny on something that's been ruined and that you'd never even want to own anyway.

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I hated DAS lessons, I hated mod 1, I never once would say I actually enjoyed a DAS lesson. I felt you tbh, fed up, loosing concentration and at times a little scared. I nearly gave up. TBF, a big reason I hated it so much was because I did it at 8am on a Saturday morning normally hungover.

But when I passed, I realised just how st the DAS bikes were, how good it was not having to go out in the pissing rain when I didn't want to. Not having to do a bding life saver every thirty seconds. Not having to go on single bd track roads (why anyone would enjoy these on a motorbike is beyond me).

The most fun I had was when the instructor couldn't go out, so gave me the hire of a 125cc on my own for two hours. I did not get off the thing for the whole two hours it was brilliant, I came in with a huge grin.

Stick with it, the MOD 2 is a piece of piss if you have a car licence. You've went this far. Saying that, the amount of money I've pissed up the wall on bikes, gear, tyres, trackdays, petrol, fixing them.... Maybe I should have gave up, i'd be fking minted.

EagleMoto4-2

669 posts

103 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Its unusual for sure to be less comfortable on a bike at speed. For me I hated and still do to some degree the slow speed stuff, but as soon as I was up to speed on the road riding during CBT I was hooked. Perhaps you arent used to the sensation of speed on a bike, you after all are much more exposed than in a car. Like others have said that will come with experience. Experience will also help with anticipating other road users mistakes, and you will develop that Spiderman sense for danger. Try not to think too much about what can go wrong as well, and you will build your confidence.

You have come this far and spent your money, you might as well see it through to the end and see how it goes on a nicer bike.

Rawwr

22,722 posts

233 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I loved all of my CBT and DAS. I knew from the first 10 minutes of CBT that riding was something I really wanted to do but I guess some of that was due to the enthusiasm of the instructors and the amazing weather we had at the time.

I will occasionally go through little bouts of not riding much and start to forget about the bike but then I get back on it and remember how much I love it.

It's certainly not for everyone, though. Only you can decide if it's something you really want to do but, if you do want to do it, don't do it half-heartedly.

Alex@POD

6,133 posts

214 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I couldn't wait to get on a bike and enjoyed it from day 1, that's probably because I started out on 50cc bikes when I was quite young. The only thing I can relate to is the observations, you get it drummed into your head a bit by your instructor because it's important, but they'll quickly become second nature and you won't even realise you're doing them.

They are important though as things can creep up and be dangerous on a bike, only a couple of weeks ago as I came off the ferry in Belfast, there were very few vehicles on this dual carriageway, I caught up to a truck in the right hand lane (we were turning right at a T junction). After the junction I decided the truck didn't pull away fast enough for my liking, so I went to pass him on the left, it turns out a car had moved into my blind spot without me noticing.

I can't say that there is no risk, but if you are attentive to what's going on around you, and read the road ahead well (hazard perception), there's actually very little that's going to "jump out" at you as you're riding along.

I'd be tempted to ask your instructor to take you on a "ride out" for an hour, i.e. not give you instructions and remind you of things every 15 seconds, but just ride with you on a quiet road and leave you to it a little bit, so you can try and relax and enjoy it. Then if it's not for you, it's not for you!

Super Slo Mo

5,368 posts

197 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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^^^ I love single track roads on the bike!

OP, it's hard, it's a new skill you are learning and you are not very good at it (yet). We all have the same problem when learning new stuff, indeed, I am learning guitar and finding it hard, despite being a pianist for 35 years, and being able to read music to a high level.

All I can say is, keep at it, sooner or later the basic motor skills will click and you will then be able to apply more concentration to riding at speed, corner positioning and the more advanced skills. It's like learning to walk, it takes a while even for kids with their ability to learn new stuff mega fast, as adults it's a much longer process.

Even after I'd passed my test, and was taking my mate's street triple out and about, there were many occasions where I simply wasn't enjoying it, as I was still focusing enormously on the basics, like changing gear properly, steering, low speed balance etc.

It will come, don't worry.

Dakkon

7,826 posts

252 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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As someone who was not a confident rider when passing his test, the best advice is seat time, my riding has improved beyond measure now that I commute every day instead of just a Sunday afternoon summer rider (the type I mocked on the commuting thread yesterday).

I used to wobble around everywhere on a bike that was way too powerful for my abilities.

Get out ont he bike as often as you can, it will all start to gel of its own accord.

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I do remember getting my 98 zx6r, for a month I was st afraid of the thing. 100 odd bhp, going from an er5 to that was like a fking rocket.

For about a month I was happy going around towns and motorways till I got used to it. I'd rather wash it at times....wtf was i thinking. I get on it now and think fk, its broken, fk me this is so slow, whats happened. It feels like an event to get to 100, you could read the owners manual in the time it takes you to get to 120. 130+ you'll have died of boredom from waiting.

Saddle time is king.

Rawwr

22,722 posts

233 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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moanthebairns said:
I do remember getting my 98 zx6r, for a month I was st afraid of the thing. 100 odd bhp, going from an er5 to that was like a fking rocket.

For about a month I was happy going around towns and motorways till I got used to it. I'd rather wash it at times....wtf was i thinking. I get on it now and think fk, its broken, fk me this is so slow, whats happened. It feels like an event to get to 100, you could read the owners manual in the time it takes you to get to 120. 130+ you'll have died of boredom from waiting.

Saddle time is king.
Hah! Yes! I remember passing my DAS on the Thursday afternoon and picking up a GSX-R600 K3 on the Friday morning. I couldn't understand how it was legal to own something so devastatingly quick and ridiculous.

Years later, I was out riding with a friend. He had a GSX-R600 K7 and I had my Fireblade RR9. We swapped bikes for a bit. I genuinely felt it didn't have enough grunt to pull out into traffic safely.

Loyly

17,990 posts

158 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Everyone has days that they don't enjoy training. I mostly enjoyed my DAS but there were some lessons where I found myself riding along thinking 'is this for me?'. Sometimes I just wasn't in the mood or I couldn't be arsed, and on days when I feel like that I don't take my bike out. When you're doing training, you're booker and committed to going along with the lessons in the planner.

What I didn't like about my lessons was plodding around town. It is a necessary skill, and of course, one you'll need to ride safely on your own. But plodding round urban areas on a bike isn't my idea of fun, and after a couple of lessons, having shown the instructor I was at home on a B road, we barely did anything other than urban and suburban riding, which wasn't really that exciting or enjoyable.

You're nearly through your Mod 2 now, so get your licence and try riding as you want to. It's quite a different experience to lessons.

road_rager

1,091 posts

198 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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It's not for everyone but you may as well get the test done seeing as you are this far. Getting up to NSL on certain roads is dangerous for sure so don't stress too much about being cautious. In short, give it time!

MOBB

3,575 posts

126 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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I didn't particularly enjoy the training.

But the first ride on my own GPZ500 was epic, I was out for hours and hours on it.

Stick with it, with practice and experience it will get better and better

joema

2,644 posts

178 months

Wednesday 24th May 2017
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Stress of failure? You don't need the licence so don't worry, take the test as many times as you need.

It's a shame that schools can't loan out 125's for like a month or something so you can go out and ride and just get used to it in your own time.